South Korean mobile operator SK Telecom has purchased a 38.9 percent stake in Japanese broadband operator Hanaro Telecom for US$1.18 billion. The investment was made by a consortium led by insurer American International Group and private equity firm Newbridge Capital. According to Reuters, shares in SK Telecom rose one percent at the news. SK Telecom is now the broadband provider’s biggest investor; it already owned 4.7 percent of Hanaro before the deal was announced.
SK Telecom’s purchase of Hanaro has been received by analysts as part of a deliberate strategy to diversify the company’s holdings. South Korea – SK Telecom’s home market – is close to mobile saturation point and the operator is seeking opportunities abroad. Earlier this month, SK Telecom increased its stake in Helio, an MVNO that rents space on U.S. operator Sprint Nextel’s network. It is also believed to have recently made a failed attempt to purchase Sprint itself for US$5 billion. Some analysts have voiced doubts about SK Telecom’s strategy. “SK is right in seeking to showcase its technology, but the market is puzzled by the way they are going about this,” Stan Jung, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities, told Reuters.